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Canada is making a significant investment in the next generation of research leaders as part of a recently announced major funding bundle. The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, and the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, made the announcement of $1.3 billion in research support across the federal government’s funding agencies. This included crucial funding and prestigious recognitions for Canada’s graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

More than 100 members of the Queen’s community are among this distinguished group recognized not only for their academic excellence but also their exceptional leadership potential. This includes the announcement of three Faculty of Arts and Science students earning and one earning a . These awards are considered among Canada’s most prestigious awards for emerging scholars.

Vanier

The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program helps Canadian institutions attract highly qualified doctoral students. Recipients are awarded $150,000 over three years in recognition of their academic excellence, research potential, and leadership potential across the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, engineering, and health. Among the 2025 cohort, five students will hold their scholarships at Queen’s.

SSHRC  

Edem (Roberta) Abbeyquaye (Film and Media): #WeAreAllGhanaians: Using Alternative Media to Facilitate Counter Publics in Ghana

“Personally, and academically, this validates me and the work I’m trying to do. I’m encouraged to keep going because it is important work,” Abbeyquaye says. “My project is not a traditional one — there are creative components. What this funding does is that it affords me time. I can spend a lot of my time working on my research, experimenting, and thinking about the impact/ interventions, and how to even make that impact/ intervention especially as it's an ongoing issue.”

Haley Smith (School of Kinesiology and Health Studies): The State of Youth Sport: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Investigation of (Mis)alignments Between Research-based Guidelines, Participation Demands, and Parent and Youth Perspectives

“This funding is both a massive honour and resource,” Smith says. “The Vanier scholarship will allow me to pursue my PhD work with much less financial stress than I would otherwise experience. Being selected to receive the Vanier award also feels like a type of encouragement; I feel as though the selection committee has given me a vote of confidence, which in turns has improved my own confidence in my ability to conduct meaningful research with community and national-level impact.”

NSERC  

Tristan Austin (Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy): Real-time Neuromorphic Control of Quantum Dot Spectral Diffusion

“Personally, this funding is a recognition of many years of dedication and hard work both in my course work and research,” Austin says. “I feel honoured that my achievements are deserving of this prestigious award. This funding will provide a critical financial support for me and my family as I focus on my research. As such, I will have more flexibility, and ultimately more time to pursue my academic goals.”

Trinity Tooley-Macarandang (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences): Modulation of Cellular Endoplasmic Stress Responses by Hepatitis C Virus and Dengue Virus: A Comparative Study  

CIHR

Marco Buttigieg (Pathology and Molecular Medicine): Characterizing Clonal Hematopoiesis-Induced Changes in the Tumour Microenvironment to Improve Immunotherapy Efficacy

Banting

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship program provides funding to the very best postdoctoral applicants, both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to Canada’s economic, social, and research-based growth. Fellows receive $140,000 over two years to support their development as research leaders of tomorrow.

SSHRC  

Anne-Marie Veillette (Geography and Planning): From Fear to Terror and Back Again: Women Transforming the City from Marginalized and Peripheral Neighborhoods in Latin America with Carolyn Prouse and Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin (Geography and Planning) – Dr. Veillette began her Fellowship at Queen's earlier this year and has since taken an Assistant Professorship at Université du Québec à Montréal.

CIHR

Peter Norris (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences): How Neutrophil Clearance in the Bone Marrow Shapes Tissue Injury Repair with Paul Kubes (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences)

Myanca Rodrigues (Psychiatry): Beyond Overdose: Exploring the Predictors and Long-term Health Impacts of Fentanyl Use in People with Opioid Use Disorder with Zainab Samaan (Psychiatry)

The Canada Graduate Scholarships are designed to provide crucial financial support for students as emerging scholars contributing to Canada’s research landscape.

The helps develop research skills and assists in the training of highly qualified students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies. It provides $27,000 in support for one year. The allows scholars to fully concentrate on their doctoral studies, to seek out the best research mentors in their chosen fields, and to contribute to the Canadian research ecosystem. It provides $120,000 in support over three years. A total of 100 Queen’s students have been awarded this competitive national funding for the upcoming academic year.

This story originally appeared in the Queen’s Gazette.